Film Reviews

Dreamcatcher

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Damian Lewis
• Details: US / 133 mins / (18).

Starting promisingly enough, Dreamcatcher follows a quartet of childhood friends, tied together through a supernatural bond. Each year, Pete (Olyphant), Jonesy (Lewis) Beaver (Lee) and Henry (Jane) go on a camping trip to celebrate their friendship and an old pal. This year's weekend is thrown into chaos when two of the group meet a fellow vacationer, suffering from terrible pains. More worryingly, his stomach appears to be growing of its own accord. The other two have problems of their own as they crash their truck several miles from civilisation and have to contend with the attentions of some nasty aliens and an elite army unit (led by a near catatonic Freeman).
Unlike the lead characters in Dreamcatcher, it's doubtful many in the audience will require unworldly powers of clairvoyance to predict how things are going to turn out in this laboured effort. Uneven in tone, atmosphere and delivery, the film (based on the Stephen King book) meanders around the horror-sci-fi-fantasy genre but never makes any significant impact. It's an awkward, immobile film and one which is more reminiscent of the countless television adaptations that are routinely conducted of the author's novels rather than the work of the man who made the Big Chill.

Review by Garreth Murphy